BROWNSBURG, Ind. — A man who was legally armed with a weapon shot and killed a gunman earlier this week after a fatal unprovoked shooting at a cemetery, saving the life of a second victim in the process.
Joshua Christopher Hayes, 22, reportedly attacked two men as they were working in the Brownsburg Cemetery Tuesday afternoon, WISH-TV reported.
Without provocation, Hayes reportedly chased Seth Robertson, 36, out into an intersection, where he shot and killed him, according to the station.
As Hayes was chasing the second cemetery worker while apparently shooting at him, one of his rounds entered the vehicle of an unidentified good Samaritan who was stopped at a red light near the intersection, injuring him, the Indianapolis Star reported.
As a result, the citizen stepped out of the car, returned fire with a legally possessed weapon and fatally struck Hayes.
“This tragic event could have been much more disastrous,” Brownsburg Police Capt. Jennifer Barrett told WISH. “Victim three not only saved victim two’s life, but he saved potentially the lives of many others. Victim three did exactly what anybody would have wanted him to do at that scene that day.”
Second Amendment attorney Guy Relford said he was representing the driver and said the shooting was justified, WIBC reported.
“My client looked at that and realized there was one thing he could do and that was take action to save an innocent life,” he told the station. “The scenario was fairly clear to him in that one person was chasing another and the other was saying, ‘no, no, no, no, please don’t shoot me.’”
Relford is also a firearms trainer and a weekend host at the radio station, Fox reported.
“They very quickly, the BPD did, determined my client acted completely lawfully and he was justified under Indiana law,” Relford said in the interview.
Ultimately, the citizen will need to be cleared by the Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office.
Investigators also said they believed Hayes’ mental health issues may have led to the shootout.
